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Thousands of Jews celebrate completion of Talmud study

The Sony Centre will welcome over 3,000 Jews to mark the completion of the 12th cycle of Talmud study, an event being marked around the world.

Rabbi Avrum Waisbrod leads the study of the Talmud at the Agudath Israel Anshei Keltz synagogue. Thousands of Jews will gather Wednesday at the Sony Centre to celebrate the 12th completion of the reading of the Talmud, which takes about seven and a half years. (ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

By Jacques GallantStaff Reporter

Tues., July 31, 2012

Almost every evening without fail, Rabbi Henry Hoschander sits down to participate in a dialogue than spans millennia and countries.

His commitment may seem daunting for he studies the Talmud, a text unlike any modern day book. The words are in Hebrew and Aramaic, in different fonts without vowels or punctuation. Blocks of scholarly commentary are wrapped around a central text. And on the edges of the page, commentary, often conflicting, on the commentary.

“Let’s put it this way: If one seeks to offset the effects of Alzheimer’s, this is one way to do it,” laughs Hoschander.

At the age of 84, he never falters in his commitment to study his daily page of Talmud, the compendium of Jewish law, ethics and customs, and the rabbinic discussions that have shaped them.

Hoschander studies at Agudath Israel Anshei Keltz, in the Bathurst St.-Lawrence Ave. W. area, one of a group which meets at the synagogue daily. Around the world, similar groups participate in the daf yomi, studying the same page on the same day.

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Considering the Talmud is made up of 63 tractates (or volumes) and comprises over 2,700 pages, it takes about 7½ years to finish this monumental task.

On Wednesday, that day has come.

An estimated 250,000 people around the world will celebrate the siyum, the completion of the 12th cycle of Talmud study since 1923. In New Jersey, more than 90,000 people are expected at the MetLife Stadium. Toronto’s celebration will take place at the Sony Centre.

Studying Talmud feels like a conversation that transcends time and space with the present-day student trying to make sense of the laws God wishes His people to follow.

But Hoschander and his fellow Talmudists relish the challenge. Daily study connects them with Jews around the world and ultimately brings them closer to God.

“There’s no end. You can always go deeper in your studies,” said Chesky Landau, co-ordinator of Wednesday’s celebration at the Sony Centre.

Daf yomi dates back to 1923, when a Polish rabbi, Meir Shapiro, developed the idea as a way to unite the world’s Jews through a key part of their heritage, said Rabbi Avrum Waisbrod, who has led Talmud classes for over 25 years.

“Whenever Jews meet each other anywhere in the world, they’re on the same page. It gives them something to talk about,” he said. “Also, (daf yomi) is a way to add regimen to your life. By telling yourself you have to read a page of Talmud a day, it’s an accomplishment that you can celebrate with those around you.”

Apart from speeches and songs, Wednesday’s siyum will also feature the reading of the last lines of the Talmud, which essentially translate to, “Whoever studies Jewish law every day is assured a place in the world to come.”

Landau said a special thank-you will be given to women at the event, who “deserve most of the credit” for facilitating their husbands’ studies of the Talmud by taking care of household chores and the children. While some Jewish women do study the Talmud, it remains a predominantly male practice.

The Toronto siyum, which is expected to fill the 3,200-seat centre, will also have a live feed to the massive New Jersey event.

At the conclusion of the event, it will simply be back to the books for Hoschander and Orthodox Jews around the world. The 13th cycle officially begins Friday.

“There is nothing in life that the Talmud does not cover; it increases your knowledge, which you hope to transmit to the younger generations,” Hoschander said. “No matter how many times you study it, you always learn something new. I know it will never be boring.”

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